Year: 2012

I don’t know if this is a typical 20-something problem, but I tend to get caught up in my own life and not always make enough effort to maintain friendships. Now that we’re all out of college, we don’t live two streets away and we have to make time to hang out. A few months ago my boyfriend and I had dinner with his college roommates and their girlfriends. Ever since, we’ve been trying to make a habit of getting together once a month for dinner to catch up and stay in touch. But with everything going on with Visa, I wasn’t really feeling very social and didn’t really want to go. But we’d had it on the calendar for weeks, and I felt guilty cancelling at the last minute.

So I shook off my funk [or least, I tried to] and made a new dish to share with everyone: Broccoli Quinoa Casserole. I’ve been shamelessly using my Pinterest Board to organize recipes, and it’s been a lifesaver. I scrolled through all the pretty pictures and picked one that looked yummy, yet healthy. I’d never tried quinoa before, but I’d heard good things on some cooking shows I watch [who doesn’t love Chopped?!]. In case you’re unfamiliar:

Like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it a complete protein source. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. – Wikipedia

I slightly modified my recipe from original on Eating Well… Living Thin and it was a huge hit! I didn’t even have any leftovers to bring home; just an empty dish to clean! So if you’re looking for something fairly easy to make that tastes great and is healthy too, try this one out!

Broccoli Quinoa Casserole by Eating Well, Living Thin

(Slightly Modified) Ingredients

1 can of low-sodium, condensed Cream of Broccoli Soup

1/3 cup of reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tablespoons of fat free milk

1 1/4 cups of reduced-fat cheddar shredded cheese

Black pepper to taste

2 cups of broccoli, cooked

1 1/2 cups of Rosemary/Olive Oil Quinoa

Shredded Parmesan cheese, to taste

Cooking Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Cook quinoa mixture according to the instructions on the box (time: approx. 15 minutes)

In a large bowl combine: cream of broccoli soup, mayonnaise, milk and pepper.

Ever since our return to the show ring last August, my goal has been to compete Visa this summer for a year-end award. At 19, I know his time is limited and I really want to end on the best note possible. But now, I’m just not sure how possible that goal will be.

First, some background information.Over the winter, Visa was just “not quite right” for several months, meaning he wasn’t lame, but he wasn’t moving 100% either. We did a round of hock injections, followed by a round of stifle injections, hoping those would help so we could begin to prepare for shows over the summer. But it’s the end of February now, and things are going downhill fast. A week ago, Visa came out of his stall limping horribly, unwilling to bear hardly any weight on his left front foot. At first, I kind of freaked out. Visa sustained a pretty serious injury to his left front back in May 2010 (a bone chip beneath the hoof, as well as ringbone in the coffin joint). But because this lameness was so sudden and so pronounced, I hoped at first it might just be an abscess.

After a few days of soaking in Epsom salts and no signs of an abscess even close to bursting, I called a farrier. My current farrier lives about two hours away, which has never thrilled me, so I called a more local farrier that comes out to my barn for several other horses. What he found did not make me happy: Visa’s feet were unbalanced side-to-side, his shoes were too small, he had no toe support and worst of all his shoes were put on crookedly. New farrier said these issues could definitely be causing Visa’s lameness, so I immediately asked for a trim and new shoes.

And it definitely had an instantaneous effect: Visa went from three-legged lame to just unsound. But at the same time, my horse wasn’t fixed and New Farrier did not see any signs of an abscess. My options were to wait and see if Visa had any continued improvement, or call in the next professional. So I made plans to visit the vet.

Visa’s front shoes before [inside set] and after New Farrier [outside set]Our vet appointment was scheduled for this week, so on Saturday we loaded up [which turned into a miniseries of its own…] and headed to the clinic. The appointment itself went mostly the way I expected: Visa flexed positive on both front feet, so we moved on to x-rays. Luckily the wait wasn’t long, as in fairly short order we were looking at pictures. Visa’s x-rays showed bone fragments as well as ringbone in both front coffin joints. So my diagnosis was pretty much the same as it had been about two years ago, and so were my treatment options: surgery or injections. And I made the same decision I did then. I’m not putting my 19-year-old on the table for surgery in his hooves, with a year plus recovery time. Even with injections, the vet recommended only light jumping, maybe a few jumps on the weekend with the aid of bute before and after.

We continued to talk as we then compared the x-rays from 2010 that I brought with me. Unfortunately, I only had pictures of the left front, none of the right. Immediately, the vet noted that not much had changed, at least in the left front. But considering the previous treatment hadn’t done much and that we were now facing similar issues in both front feet, our diagnosis got worse. We would still inject, to try to keep Visa as comfortable as possible, but the vet recommended no jumping at all.

As we drove home, at first I was devastated. All I heard was “no jumping,” meaning no show season. No chance to prove to everyone that Visa and I could overcome our challenges and be successful; no chance to have one last hurrah. But then my boyfriend said “He’s 19, of course he has arthritis. Isn’t that why they make medications for that?”

And he’s right. Normally, I am totally against medicating a horse to get him to do something. And obviously I need to see how things go—maybe things have changed for Visa since last summer and jumping will hurt him. But if I have to give him a little bute when he jumps, why can’t I? I only want to jump 2′ for one summer; for five shows, in one division at an unrated local series. Obviously I won’t get to practice jumping like I had planned, but Visa doesn’t need to school fences. I can take lessons on another horse to work on my form, ride Visa on the flat to keep up his condition and work on his adjustability. We might not do as well, but for me it’s not about the ribbons, it’s just an accomplishment to be there and showing.

I guess in the end it’s the same diagnosis that I expected: “Let’s inject his coffin joint and see how it does.” If Visa doesn’t want to jump, I know he’ll tell me.

Welcome to Fly On Over, a chronicle centered around my equestrian lifestyle. Some people say riding horses is a hobby… but those people probably aren’t equestrians themselves. I’ve often said that if I didn’t want to ride, I’d probably just work part-time at McDonald’s. While that’s probably an exaggeration, a lot of what I do is because of my passion for horses. It might sound crazy, but that’s the truth. I work to afford lessons and board; I workout to be a better rider; I read to learn more about these amazing animals and how to care for them. So Fly On Over will serve as a journal of sorts all about my equestrian pursuits… and I’m sure I’ll manage to throw in a random recipe or a blip about a vacation every once in a while. So, there you have it. I hope you enjoy!

Hi! I'm Tracy, a full-time marketing and communications professional from Central Ohio. Fly On Over follows my journey as a horse owner and adult amateur trying to find success in the hunter/jumper show ring with my Thoroughbred, Miles.

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Welcome!

Hi! I'm Tracy, a full-time marketing/communications professional from Central Ohio. Fly On Over follows my journey through horse ownership and as a working adult amateur trying to find success in the hunter/jumper show ring with my Thoroughbred, Miles.